Finnish border guards at a section of the initial 3-kilometer (1.9-mile) stretch of fence under construction near a border crossing near Imatra, in southeast Finland, on May 30, 2023. (Roni Rekomaa/Bloomberg)
Finland is stepping up preparedness with a new website aimed at ensuring citizens are ready in case of a crisis or conflict.
The site, launched by the Interior Ministry on Monday, is intended to get people thinking about what they would do in emergency situations that would have a broad impact on society. It pulls together instructions from a variety of authorities.
“Preparedness is a civic skill in the current global situation,” Kimmo Kohvakka, director general for rescue services at the ministry, said in a statement. “Knowing what to do in case of an incident is a good foundation for society’s resilience.”
The scenarios include long power cuts, water outages, interruptions in telecommunications, extreme weather events, major accidents as well as longer-term crises, such as a pandemic or military conflict. The guide also contains details on hybrid warfare and information influence activities.
Finland has had organized preparedness work since the 1950s and has for a long time advised citizens to hold 72 hours’ worth of food, water, medications and cash in case of a crisis.
It’s that longstanding work that led European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to this year commission former Finnish President Sauli Niinisto to write a report, published last month, on what the bloc can do to strengthen its preparedness and resilience.
In neighboring Sweden, the government has also updated its booklet, In Case of Crisis or War, this year and on Monday began posting it to people’s homes.
Since the Kremlin launched its full-scale aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, Finland has taken a range of measures to counter any threats from Russia, including joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization last year. Its more than 800 miles of border with Russia now make up more than a half of NATO’s eastern flank.
Finland has also closed all road crossing points along its eastern border and is planning a full ban on property purchases with links to Russian owners in order to stop any hybrid and influencing activities.
